1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to portable storage containers designed for use by children in the passenger compartment of automotive vehicles and in particular to a portable backseat storage container apparatus having inclined headrest cushions for simultaneous use by two children.
2. Description of Related Art
For many years parents have attempted to deal with the problems often encountered with children on both short and long trips in the family automobile. As is well known, during such trips children often become bored or sleepy, or both. To combat boredom and to keep the children quietly occupied while in the backseat, parents often provide the children with toys coloring books, reading materials or a combination of the foregoing items. This, in turn, presents problems of how to conveniently assemble and store such items in preparation for a car trip and during the trip.
One problem experienced when items are stored on a seat or rear window ledge of a car is that they tend to move or fall when the car drives over bumps or is turning. Items such as crayons, books and games can thus end up underfoot on the floor of the car. The problem of items sliding is particularly acute when items that have flat, slippery surfaces, such as games in cardboard boxes or books, are stacked on the car seat or window ledge.
Many children fall asleep during long car trips, at least for a while. This can prove uncomfortable for the child, particularly when he or she does not have a cushion or pillow to lean his or her head against. The common solution to this problem is to provide the child with a pillow, cushion or a folded-up blanket so that the child will have a pillow against which he can place his head. The pillows and blankets, like the other items, present a storage problem. Often, they are propped up by the child against a door, and tend to fall out when the door is opened. Also, the pillows and blankets tend to end up on the floor of the backseat area. This is a problem during rainy or snowy weather, since the floor area or the child's shoes may get the fallen pillow or blankets wet or dirty. This, in turn, adds to the laundry work of the parents, which work is often difficult to arrange to do on a trip or a vacation.
Another problem experienced from time to time on long car trips by many parents of small children is the bickering or arguments between the children. For example, an older child may be trying to concentrate on a puzzle on the right side of the backseat, while a bored younger child on the left side of the backseat is intent, due to his boredom, on bothering the peaceful older child Any device which might tend to diminish the ability of one child in a backseat from bothering, hitting or otherwise interfering with another child in the backseat would be greatly welcomed by such parents.
In light of the foregoing problems, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a storage container apparatus for use by two children in a backseat of an automotive vehicle to store items useful to keep them occupied and to provide them each with pillows upon which they may rest their heads when tired.
It is a related object of the present invention to provide a support structure for pillows in such vehicles upon which the children may rest their heads that keeps the pillows in place in the car so as to not allow the pillows to be accidentally dropped out of the car or into the floor area adjacent the backseat.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a storage container which can be secured by a seat belt in the center of a bench-type backseat of an automobile, so that it will not move about when the car travels over road bumps or is turning.
Another object of the present invention is to provide at least two separate storage compartments for each child, so as to help minimize disputes between the children over such items.
It is a related object of the present invention to provide a storage apparatus which is lightweight and easily portable by an adult by one hand so as to facilitate the loading and unloading of the apparatus outside of a vehicle.